3 keys for Bears defense vs. Titans in Week 1

Hold fast, Chicago Bears fans: Kickoff is just days away. Chicago is set to square off with the Tennessee Titans Sunday at Soldier Field, with rookie Caleb Williams getting his first regular-season start as the Bears’ hopeful franchise quarterback.

We covered the three keys for offense, so it’s only fair to flip to the other side of the ball and breakdown what the defense has to do to keep second-year quarterback Will Levis and company from ruining Williams’ welcome party -- and to start the season off right at 1-0.

Let’s get right into it and discuss the three keys for the defense against the Titans in Week 1.

1. Push the pocket early

Titans quarterback Will Levis is coming into his sophomore campaign looking to build off his promising but fruitless rookie year, and Tennessee has done an admirable job in giving him the tools to find success. Their receiving corps got a major revamp with the additions of Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd, and they brought in talented running back Tony Pollard to fill a Derrick Henry-sized hole after he departed for Baltimore. Clearly the Titans expect Levis to take a big step this year, and the Bears’ task in Week 1 is to make his first foray into his second season as difficult as possible.

Every quarterback this Sunday will be aiming to find their rhythm throwing the ball early, so the defense needs to get in his face on every snap, particularly in the first quarter. Defensive end Montez Sweat and the defensive line will be crucial in accomplishing that mission, giving a unit that’s been the subject of much scrutiny a tall obstacle to overcome in their first game. Sweat will undoubtedly put the opposing Titans’ tackle through the ringer most of the game, which will keep Levis on edge. Interior pressure will be integral here – Gervon Dexter and Andrew Billings will have to carry over their strong play from the end of last season, obstructing Levis’s ability to move up through the pocket and force him to improvise.

Strong play from the Bears’ defensive front four will put Levis in a flunk for a large portion of the game, hindering his ability to get the ball to his standout receivers.

2. Tackle ball carriers at first contact

Chicago is being seen as a top five defense heading into the season but, as cornerback Jaylon Johnson would say, the product on the field comes before the hype. The Bears have become somewhat notorious for playing undisciplined football at the beginning of the season – an irritatingly slow start that snowballs into the product it should have been later in the year. If Chicago is keen on seriously competing, any feet dragging through the mud in the season opener is inexcusable. The fundamentals need to be in place and errors needs to be kept to a minimum, which means the team will have to exterminate a bad habit that’s plagued them the last few years: poor tackling.

The defense has to meet the ball carrier at the point of attack and bring him down; broken tackles will almost single handedly doom the Bears’ chances of winning the game. That shortcoming is what allowed Green Bay to rout Chicago in Week 1 last year. The Titans are stacked with several offensive playmakers that already will make things difficult as the game proceeds, and failure to tackle only will further cripple their efforts to stop them. If Levis begins to scramble, the defensive line needs to be in pursuit and force him out of bounds or make a tackle before a big gain occurs. Linebackers need to meet the running back in the whole and hold him up there so the Bears don’t get gashed, and cornerbacks need to embody their patented physicality and make tackles in space on their playmaking receivers.

Yards-after-catch severely wounded the Bears last year, so efforts need to be made to keep Tennessee in check if Chicago wants to come out of Soldier Field with a victory.

3. Stay disciplined in coverage

The defense’s strength lies in its secondary – Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson spearheads a ferocious unit that’s grown tremendously confident in their abilities to shut down any receiver in the league. Their stellar performance down the stretch in 2023 is demonstrative of that sentiment, but even going head-to-head with the team’s own three-headed monster receiving unit of DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze only bolsters their belief heading into this year. The Bears are in a “prove it” year, however, so they’ll have to walk the walk against an imposing Titans receiving corps.

Surely, the ever-competitive Johnson is ecstatic to line up against a modern great in DeAndre Hopkins, who lacks the unreal explosiveness he once had but makes up for it with his large frame and refined footwork. That matchup will surely be a tug-of-war down to the wire in Week 1. Promising young corners Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon will have the challenge of staying with ultra-athletic Calvin Ridley and the reliable Tyler Boyd. Safety Jaquan Brisker will be roaming the field in his signature pseudo-linebacker role, going from playing his deep third as a defensive back and stacking the box like a linebacker. Free safety Kevin Byard brings much-needed veteran leadership to the defensive back room and he’ll get the chance to have a big game against his former team.

The group has two goals: stay disciplined in their roles and get a takeaway. All three aforementioned Titans wideouts are veterans who have numerous ways of getting open, and all of them are deadly in the scramble drill. Communication in the backfield and persistence in coverage on extended plays where Levis is improvising will give them their best chance in taking away the ball in a big moment.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs. Titans: 3 keys for Chicago's defense in Week 1